Electroconvulsive therapy in the elderly.
ECT is a safe, useful, and effective treatment for a variety of disorders and can be administered safely in elderly patients. Efforts need to be undertaken to increase the awareness and acceptability of ECT treatments. As Carl Salzman says in the January 1998 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, "Let us not perpetuate outmoded, nonscientific and incorrect attitudes toward ECT in our younger colleagues. Rather, let us stimulate scientific curiosity and research into this cost-effective and safe psychiatric treatment."
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